Improvement in vegocipbdes



being had to the accompanying drawing forming part for theoperators'behind and attached to' each wheel.

, the motion of the hind wheel.

. behind the hind wheel, so that, when steering and purpose of securingthe slide in any position.'

ARTHUR M'. ALLEN, OF NEW YORK, N.. Y.

Letters Patent No. 103,957,.date1l Jane 7, 1870.

IMPRQVEMENT nv vnnoerpnnas.

` i The Schedule vmeter-red to in these Letters Patent and making partof the same.

MN-L. l

i by straps embracing themloosely over said collars and fast to thesleeves. The-sleeves may be kept from turning sideways on the fork bykey-ways or other suitable 'means i Another elastic cushion is placedaround the bearing of the axle, thereby giving additional safety againstrough wear and tear.

The shaft ofthe driving-wheel is made in two parts and screwed irmopposite sides into thc hub, the part on the right hand having aright-hand screw-thread,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR M. ALLEN, of thecity, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Velocipedes; and I do hereby declare the following to be4a, full, clear, andv exact description thereoi, which will enable thoseskilled in the art to make 'and use the'same, reference of thisspecification, in which drawing- Figure l represents a side elevation ofthis invention.

Figure 2 is a transverse section of the same, the line :t a', g. 1,indicating the plane of section.

Figure 3 is a similar` se'ction of the same, taken in the planeindicated by thel line y y, fig. 1.

.Figure/i is a. plan or ,top view ot the saine.

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts.`

This invention relates to a velocipede having two or more wheels, onebehind the other,each wheel be.- ing provided with its own driving-gear,and with seats thread, so that each part is kept tight by the pressureof the driving-gear; butif desired, a set-screw may the shaft. B v thismode of making the shaft, each crank, with its part of'y the axle andwith its shoulder for locking np against the hub, may be made completeby itself bef'crefputting it into the wheel, the bearing being madewhole and inserted into the center of the 'elastic cushion in thestandard or its sleeve, and the axle put through it, and the crankrevolved till it In this instance the velocipede is steered by the hindlocks up against the hub, thereby producing an arwheel, and the frontwheel is largest, but it may be made-to steer by the front wheel withthe hind wheel the largest, in which case the large hind wheel may beused as theonly driving-wheel and the front rider only need steer.

In steering this velocipede, if the front rider operates the steeringmechanism the hind rider holds onto the handles and allows himselfto beturned with the wheelby'the front rider, or he may steer by swinging,his body and-the wheel while holding the handles, the fl'ont riderallowing his steering mechanism to follow without requiring any wrenchesor tongs, all nuts and bolts about the bearings being done awaywith.

concave so as to give a better hold to the foot. The foot-brake, whichin this case is used by the hind rider, is so constructed that it actsalso as foowrest, and, when adjusted with a light spring, as a scraper.

To the rim of the driving-wheel are'secured two Weights, slightly'behind the cranks, whereby the steadiness of the machine is materiallyincreased and the rider is enabled to keep the same on a straight line.The slipping of the driving-wheel on the ground is prevented, a highspeed is more easily obtained than by carrying a :continuons heavy tire,and the machine can be propelled through mud and sand, and up hill, withless expenditure ot' force than it can it the weights are omitted. Bychanging these weights for others the machine may be made to suitpersons of ess or more power.

l Instead of the hind rider steering-this way his seat may be attachedto the frame of the front wheel and, he may turn the hind wheel by thestandard in the same manner in which the front wheel of ordinarybicycles is turned.

Thejoint in the reach of this velc'cipede is placed running on a curve,the rider is carried somewhat to the inside of the curve, and thenecessity of leaning over is avoided. This `joint may be adjusted 'tosuit persons of various weights, by means of a slide in the head ofthe'standard, and a pin or screw for the levers or bars, one beingattached to the lower end' of the steering-post and the other to thestandard or frame of the steeringfwheel, the two levers being conneetedeither by a roller-stud secured in one and catching in a slot in theother lever, or simply by a link, in such a manner that thc steeringmechanism .The armsot the standard-fork run into two sleeves `whichcarry the bearings for the axle at their lower ends, each arm of thefork resting on an elastic onshion placed at the bottom ofthe holes,thereby making transmitted by positive vmeans. to the standard or asuitable spring for-the frame, and avoiding much of frame of thesteering-wheel. the jar now encountered. The tires ofthe wheels are madeof end-grain wooden The arms of the fork are prevented from jumpingblocksor segments, having shoulders, to which two ont of their sleevesby collars fastened on them, and light metallic strapsorbands aresecured. The wooden and the one on the left having a left-hand screwbeput through -the hub into the end of cach part ot' rangement which canalways be adjusted and cleaned The treads of the pedals on the cranksare. made The steering-gear is constructed ef two horizontal issimplified, and the motion of the steering-post is simple foot-cranks,consists of a slotted har having a' small-roller travelngin its slot,said roller being'bored out to receive the crank-pin in such a mannerthat, by imparting to the slotted bar an oscillating motion, .eitherbyhand or foot-power, or by both combined, the driving-wheel is causedto revolve with the least `possible loss of power by friction.

The brakes, which may be properly -termed 'roadbrakes, consist of barssecured one on each side of the machine, and hinged sov that they may bedepressed to the road-level 'by toggle-levers or other suitable means,and that, by lifting the wheel clear of the road, and causing the entireweight of the drivingwheel to bear and slide on the road-brakes, themotion of the machine can be stopped quickly, edectually, and with'- outdanger of upsetting.4 These road-brakes may be operated by hand or foot,either one or both hands or feet operating both sides at once, andtheymay be subjected tothe action of a spring whichrserves to liftthesame out of the way 4when they are Vnot In the drawing- The letter Adesignates the front wheel of my re- I `locipede, and the -letter B thehind wheel.

l The front wheel, is mounted on an axle, a, which has its bearings incurved bars O, which are vfirmly connected to the outer `or front endsof the reach D. On the ends of thc axle a are mounted the cranks b, thecrank-pins of which are inserted into rollers or slides ctraveling in oron bars d, as shown in iig. 1.l

These bars are connected by pivots e to the reach,

or to brackets which are rigidly connected to the reach,

so that :tn-oscillating motion can be imparted to them either by hand or,foot-power, or by both combined.

By thus imparting to the slotted bars d an oscillating motion the wbeelAis'caused to revolve, and very little power is lost by friction, all theparts of the driving-gear being4 so constructed that the friction isreduced to a minimum.

r.'Jhe pivots e also form the fulcrums for the road-lnalres E, which areconstructed of two curved bars attached to the pivots e, and connectedtogether' at theirA outer loose ends by a cross-brace, so that'theycanbe raised from', -or depressed to, the ground, as may be desired.These road-brakes are operated by toggle-levers f, to which the requiredmotion is' imparted ,by hand or foot, and, by depressing said brakesupon the road with one, both sides of the 'road-brake areuniformlydepressed. The tire of the wheel A is constructed ofa series lof end-grain wooden segments, g, which are fastened to the fellies byscrews or dovrei-pins, and by means of two straps, h, which embraceshoulders formed on both sides of thel tire-blocks, and are fastened tothe same by spikes, screws, shrinking on, or any other suitable means.

The faces or treads of the tire-blocks are scored, to increase theirh'old on the ground.

The reach D extends back beyond the standard F lof the hind wheel B,vandthrough its rear end-extends a pivot or king-bolt, i, which is rmlysecured in a slide, j, tted into a dovetailed block, k, which forms thehead of the standard F.

By placing the joint of the reach back of the hind wheel, the rider,when steering, is carried somewhat insidethe curve, andthe necessity forleaning over is avoided, and, by moving the slide j back and forth inthe block k, the hind wheel is moved toward or from ent weights'.

The slide j is fastened in the block k -by'a pin or set-screw, or anyother suitable means.

The standard F is composed of two rods or ,arma-l, which extend fromthe'block Ic, and are itted into catchover the-arms, and bear on collars'0, attached to said'arms, said straps being fastened to the sleeves, ar.shown in Iig. 1 of the drawing.

The arms l rest upon elastic cushions p, placed in the sockets of thesleeves m, so as to form springs, .and to reduce the jar 'of themachine.

The sleeves 'm form the bearings for the axle. q, and these bearingsconsist of boxes passing through thesleeves, and inclosed, each, in anelastic cushion, r, whereby additional safety against rough wear andtear is effected.

The axle q is made Iin two parts, each part being Aprovided with e.screw-thread-the right-hand part with a rightfhand, and the left-handpart with a lefthand thread-so that they caribe screwed from oppo sitesides into the. hub of the wheel, which is providedwi'thcorresponding'intemal threads.

Each part of'the axle, with its crank, can thus be inishedseparately,and fastenedin the required positionwithont trouble and, as the machineis propelled, the power, acting on the cranks, serves tokeep secure theparts'of the axle, while, by turning ther cranks in the oppositedirection, the axle can be readily -taken out, for the purpose ofcleaning or repairing.

The bearings or axle-boxes can be made of one piece, without screws orbolts, and much time and labor nre saved in the construction of themachine, and in keeping the same in proper order. By this arrangement,

ders onthe shaft and the hub can be always secured by means'of washers.

The pedals s on the cranks are made concave, so as to give a good holdto the foot.

To the rim of the driving-wheel Bare secured weights t, slightly in therear of thev foot-cranks, so that, at .the moment the power of the footis brought on one of the cranks, one of the weights is in the mostfavorable position to impart tothe wheel the required momentum.

By using these weights, the steadiness of the 'machine when in motion,and the adhesion'of the wheel to the road, are materially increased.'

through mud, sand, or `up-hill, and a high speed can be maintained, andless power is needed than when using a continuous heavy tire of the sameweight.

be changed tosuit persons of less or more power.

vMy velocipede is constructed 'for two riders, one being situated onthereach behind the front wheel, and the other on a seat, G, supported 'bybraces u, extending fromthe hind-wheel standard, so that said seat issituated behind the hind Wheel, as shown in iig. 1 of the drawing, eachof the wheels being provided with its own distinct driving-gear, so thatboth riders can assists in propelling the machine.

The machine is steered by the tiller c, secured in the steering-post w,to the lower end of which is secured alever, a', carrying a roller-studor slide, 11', which catches in a slotted lever, c', secured to thehind-wheel standard F; or, if desired, -the levers c and c may beconnected simply by a link at right angles to them, or nearly so.

lBy turning the tiller, the hind wheel, with its standard, and with theseat G, are turned, the rider occupythe king-bolt i, and the machine isadjusted for diiersleeves m, being retained therein by straps-n, which`also, la clean, snugv fit of the sleeves between the sboul- 1 Themachine cany be run with-comparative ease The weights are maderemovable, so that they can l with the hind wheel.

this case, the front rider will allow his steering mechanism to followthe motion of the hind wheel.

"Tn-e sector nie :hindi-mer' ungut', howevei, be also' attached to theframe of the front wheel, or to the reach; and, in this case, he mayturn the hind wheel bythe standard inthe same manner in which the frontwheel of ordinary bicycles is turned. u

The foot-rest of the hind rider consists of two foot'- pieces, e', whichare mounted on a rock-shaft, fi', on which'` is also secured a sl|oc,.g,so that, by turning thc feet down in the properdireetion, the shoe canbe brongh to bear on the circumference ofthe wheel, and made to act as abrake. I

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letf ters Patent, is I 1.'lhe seat in the rear o t the hind wheel, supported bybrackets, whencombined with the driving-geaiof the hind wheel and its standard, andoperating as herein d'escribedl t 2. The handle d, secured to the frameof thefront wheel, in combination with the seat, secured to braeketsextending from the hiin -wheel standard, snbstantially as described.

3. In a velocipede having one wheel behind' the other, the arrangementof ajoint in the rcachbehind both the front wheel and thetop'mof thehind wheel, snbstantially'as shown and described.

4. The arrangement, in a veloeipede, of a slide and groove block,forming an adj nstable connection between the reach and standard,substantially as described.

5. 'lhe fork l and sleeves m, composing the standard 1", as described.

(i. The elastic cushions p, in combination with the fork Zand sleeves m,composing the standard, substantially as set forth.

the wheel by right and left-hand screw-threinls, as set forth.

il. The foot-bralie, composed of pedals and a shoel mounted on aroclclshaf't, as described, so that it can be used either as afoot-rest, a i'ootLbrake, or a scraper.

10. The arrangement ot'dctaehablc weights, in combination with thedriving-wheel of' a velocipedc, substantially as set'iorth.

11. The arrangement oi' the lever extending from the steering-post, andconnected to the lever exteinlingr from-thc steering-wheel l'by a slotor its equivalent,

and operating as herein shown and described.

12. The metallic straps, in combination with thetire formed of end-grainwooden blocks, provided Withshonlders to receive said straps, one oneach side, substantially as set forth.

13. lhe oscillating lever, in combination with a roller or slide,mounted on the'cranlepin of the driving-wheel ofa velocipede, andoperating togethcrsnbstantially as described.

1.4. The hinged road-brake, in cembination withthe frame of avelocipede, for the purpose set forth.

15. The toggle-levers, iu 'combination with the hinged road-brake, 4substantially as described. 1b'. The ibotpedals, in combination with thelevers operating the road-brake, and sol connected to them that, byactuating the lever on one side, both sides of` the road-ln'ake aredepressed with a uniform pressure, as set t'orth. i

This specification signed by me this 21st day of l\Iarel1,1870

ARTHUR M. ALLEN. Witnesses:

C. WAHLERS, E. F. Kssrnxrwnn.

